Four Pioneer Valley High School students are now part of the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) after scoring within the top 2.5 percent of all Hispanic and Latino PSAT test takers in the Western Region.
The recognition allows 11th graders Erik Ruiz, Joseph Soria, Daniel Segura, and Analiese Ramirez to highlight their outstanding accomplishments to top colleges and universities, according to Assistant Principal Elyssa Chavarria.
Students Segura and Ruiz plan to serve as positive role models for younger students.
“The greatest reward of the recognition is that it not only highlights my Latino heritage, but rewards my parents for the sacrifices they have made for me,” Ruiz said in a press release.
In addition, Ramirez qualified for the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program, making her one of the 50,000 highest-scoring participants out of about 1.5 million entrants.
Each year, the NHRP recognizes about 5,000 to 250,000 Hispanic/Latino high school juniors who take the test. To be eligible, you must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category, so students can be of any race, according to the NHRP.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2016.